Latest Testimonial from Sarah McCullum

I love it when people really ‘get’ moving energy. The joy of seeing someone’s self realisation is extremely rewarding.

This is an unedited testimonial from Sara McCallum, but with highlights from me.

“We’ve all heard about ‘energy’, that ethereal element that you can’t see but you know is there, and we know it’s there because we feel it. But, what I learnt today was that I’m feeling my body move, not necessarily feeling the ‘energy’ behind that movement. Julian’s passion for his craft, for this art of feeling and moving energy is evident and that’s exactly what this is, an art and one that takes time and practice to master. I’ve had but one lesson but it has been an exceptionally enlightening one. Julian’s teaching method is paced to the students knowledge and ability to not only understand but also to how they are able to feel the energy inside their bodies which ensures that it is neither too fast, where you are struggling to keep up nor too slow, losing interest. So, what did I learn and how is this going to benefit me? Firstly, if you decide to take one of Julian’s classes, and I do whole heartedly recommend that you do, forget all you think you know about energy and go with an open mind and a willingness to learn. It is only then that you will become fully aware of what you’re feeling. Secondly, relax and don’t worry if you can’t feel it straight away, Julian’s patience will enable you to reach the point of ‘feeling’ in time. And when you do, when you feel that ‘buzz’ as you become aware of the energy moving through you, it’s mind blowing. It cannot be quantified nor described well in words, it truly is only something you can ‘feel’ but I shall attempt to for the sake of the reader. In very simplistic terms, it felt like rivers of ‘heat’ flowing in lines throughout my body, from feet to head to arms and hands and through concentration I was able to direct these rivers to flow to which ever part of my body I wished. Now, I’ve made it sound simple and easy, it’s not and to be honest, at first you’re not even sure you’re feeling anything (perhaps that’s more to do with self doubt and confidence than anything else) but you quickly realise that suddenly your body feels ‘solid’ and there is a power inside you that you didn’t realise was there before. Along with this ‘solid’ feeling, my body suddenly felt ‘connected’, my torso to my limbs, my head to my body etc etc in ways I’ve never experienced before, like every part of me was understanding exactly how to move and where it needed to be in order for me to move effortlessly and fluidly, totally in sync.

So, would I recommend it? Absolutely and for several reasons. It instills a sense of empowerment, an inner strength not dependent on gender or size and with this comes confidence. But as well as this, it shows that our bodies are capableof so much more than what we are usually taught they can do in mainstream exercise classes. The knowledge that Julian so passionately imparts has the potential to enrich lives and improve the quality of health of every person who undertakes regular practice of the art, both mentally through relaxation to physically helping the practitioner to move better and to aid better sleep and I for one, am eager to continue to learn and improve. For me, as well as all I’ve said above, and I stress that this is a personal opinion, I can see the benefit of this skill should I choose to transfer what I’ve learnt to my training in systema, particularly with regard to strikes. When this power, this energy, is moved through the body and transferred into a strike, the difference is remarkable. Now, I’m not a strong woman and with that I mean, physically strong. I am slim built with a small frame and I am the epitome of the saying ‘hits like a girl’. However, by moving energy the way Julian taught me to, physical strength no longer becomes the point because you are no longer using this to strike but using energy instead and trust me, energy can out strike strength any time.